Authorities collect 4.4 billion VND in taxes from 7 artists.

The amount of money that the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has collected from artists has increased more than three times compared to last year.

According to the head of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, over the past year, the agency has invited several artists to declare and settle their personal income tax for the years 2009-2014. As a result, seven individuals were ordered to pay back a total of 4.4 billion VND.

According to this source, the cases of artists being required to pay back personal income tax mainly stem from the same reasons as in previous years: they claim that the event organizers deducted 10% of their income, so they did not file a tax return at the end of the year.

However, in reality, this is only a provisional tax payment. Throughout the year, artists receive their fees from various sources, and only at the end of the year does it become clear whether they have overpaid or underpaid. Artists with high incomes are likely to be subject to a higher tax rate than 10% (the progressive tax rate is 5-35%), so they have to pay more. Conversely, if they overpay, they will receive a refund.

In 2013, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department also collected 1.3 billion VND in back taxes from 5 star singers, which were paid into the State budget.

Besides artists, according to a representative from the Tax Department, many other groups such as doctors, lecturers, and high-income earners, after being invited to the tax office, voluntarily declared and paid an additional approximately 35 billion VND into the state budget in 2014.

According to VOV